Sunset in the Sands
by ParadiseAvenger
Summary: MOVED! It was supposed to be simple. It was only PROM! Everyone was excited, bouncing off the walls, even. Then, the first rose arrived and everything became far more complicated for Maka. Who is the mysterious sender? Adult Themes. Secret Pairing and lemon. (3 Chapters.) MOVED!


So, at this point, everyone knows that I was forced to remove Lemon Island and its mature content due to the Eliminator Forum vicious attacking and trolling me. I'm going to move ALL my mature stories to a new website. If you're just as sick of this as I am, please join our cause to bring freedom back to Fanfiction!

Anyway, I have **MOVED** this story **COMPLETELY** to another site. You can find this **STORY** and all its subsequent **UPDATES **here: h*t*t*p :/ archiveofourown. o*r*g /works/832230/chapters/1583276

I have the same penname there as I do here: ParadiseAvenger

**X:One:X**

Monday, May 9th, 11:21 a.m.

The theme was Sunset in the Sands. It wasn't the best theme, but hey, there were worse ones out there. It could have been Circus or Carnival or Underwater. The theme for what, you might ask? Why, for Prom of course! Shibusen or DWMA, depending on who you talked to, was simply buzzing with excitement and drama. There was a lot of fighting over dates, crying over lack of dates or the wrong date, a mess of generally worked-up guys tired of their girlfriends, whimpering over dresses and shoes and jewelry, moaning over limos, and just a lot of complaining in general as everyone prepared for Prom come Saturday night. And to think it was only Monday.

It was going to be a long week…

Maka Albarn peeked up over her book, eyeing her friends as Elizabeth Thompson got worked up over her dress, Death the Kid yowled about the number of petals in roses—asymmetrical numbers, damn it! Only eight was acceptable!—BlackStar just hooting and screaming in general, Patricia Thompson scribbled out a drawing of a giraffe on her prom flyer, Tsubaki Nakatsukasa attempted to calm Liz down, and Soul Eater dozed half-propped up on his hand. She decided it was in her best interest not to try to intervene and slid her eyes back into her book.

That was when the first rose arrived.

All of the sudden, the class went silent which was a welcome change, but Maka continued reading until Soul put his elbow in her ribcage. She was going to chop him until he pointed vaguely forward to a nervous-looking underclassman who was shuffling about in front of her.

"Um, Maka Albarn, right?" the poor kid asked.

"Yes?"

"I was told to give this to you," he forced out. Poor kid—it probably looked like he was trying to ask an upperclassman to the Prom. Then, he produced a small white box about six inches by two inches with a thick glossy red ribbon tied around it, handed it quickly over, and scampered away.

"Wait!" Maka called out. "Is this from you?"

He shook his head. "Not from me!"

"Then who?"

"I'm… I'm not supposed to say," he shouted back and then scurried out the door.

"What is it, Maka?" Liz asked and stuck her head around Soul's shoulder.

"I don't know," Maka said and looked suspiciously at the box. "Do you think it's a prank?"

"Open it! Open it!" Patty chanted. Then, her favorite and most-used yellow crayon broke in her hand and she let out a shriek of terror that was quickly seconded by Kid along with a shout of, "Asymmetrical garbage!" Then, Patty started laughing, selected red, and went right back to drawing. Kid, on the other hand, promptly passed out on the floor.

"Kid's out," Soul reported lamely and glanced down at the young Grim Reaper.

Liz turned back to look, eyed him, shifted his head with her foot, and said, "Just leave him. So, Maka, what's in that box?"

Maka pulled the bow and unwound the ribbon. Then, she slowly lifted the lid as Tsubaki and Liz leaned in around her. Inside, nestled in a bed of white tissue paper, was a single red rose with beautiful blood-red petals and every thorn had been neatly clipped off. "Wow," Maka breathed and lifted the rose from the paper. Beneath it was small piece of paper with scalloped edges and beautiful silver calligraphy that read simply 'Will…' and then had 'Love, Secret Admirer' at the bottom of the card. "What do you think it is?" she whispered.

"It looks like… the beginning of a proposal to go to Prom, maybe?" Tsubaki suggested.

"It looks like whoever did it chickened out. It just says 'will,'" Liz pointed out.

"What's that on the back?" Soul asked. He was lazily watching them through half-lidded crimson eyes.

Maka flipped the card and it said 'Day One.'

"Day One?" Liz repeated. "Does that mean you'll be getting one of these every day?"

Maka shrugged and slipped the rose back into the box along with the card. "I don't know," she said softly and cut her eyes to Soul. She was kind of hoping to go to the Prom with him, at least as friends, but if this 'Secret Admirer' was going to ask her out then that was cool too.

"If you're finished holding up class, Miss Albarn," Franken Stein said slowly.

Maka's face heated up as she realized the entire class had been watching her. She grabbed the white box and shoved it into her lap, blushing madly. "Y-yes. I'm sorry, Professor Stein!" Several people snickered and class resumed, but Maka found it hard to concentrate. She just kept thinking about the rose and the card. Who could it be from?

…

After school, the girls hit the stores. Maka's father had given her enough money to buy a cruise liner and he insisted she get whatever she wanted. Tsubaki had a small budget to work with and Maka planned to sneakily help her out. Liz and Patty, on the other hand, had the riches of a Grim Reaper at their fingertips. They trolled the racks together, chatting amicably.

Liz pulled out something slinky enough for a prostitute. "What about this?"

"Whore!" Patty shouted and several people looked at them.

"Um, Liz," Tsubaki began, nice as pie as always.

Maka, like Patty, was all about giving an honest opinion. "Liz, it's totally a slut dress."

"I know, that's what I want!"

"You _want_ to look like a slut?" Maka repeated, mouth falling open.

Tsubaki was completely thunderstruck.

Patty just started laughing.

"Well, yeah," Liz said and held the dress up against her body. "I want Kid to notice."

"I think you should pick something symmetrical, then," Maka said. "He'll have an aneurism, and not in a good way, if you wear that off-one-shoulder number."

Liz barked a laugh. "I suppose you're right!" Then, she slipped the slinky dress back onto the rack and moseyed on.

Silently, Tsubaki, Maka, and Patty followed Liz. Long week, hell it was going to be a long shopping trip! The boys were lucky. Kid and Soul both already had suits hanging in their closets and BlackStar only had to rent one. Sometimes, being a girl just sucked and was plain old-fashioned difficult.

…

When Maka dragged herself into the apartment she shared with Soul, she was ready to drop. Soul had prepared some dinner and had a plate waiting for her in the microwave, but it was late and he was asleep on the couch. Maka ate quietly, showered, and investigated the living room. Since Soul was still asleep on the couch, she saw fit to wake him up and shoo him into his bedroom. Then, she too crawled into bed and slept like the dead.

Day One: Will…

**X:Two:X **

Tuesday, May 10th, 11:33 a.m.

Maka found herself eagerly awaiting the second day's rose, staring at the door and not even paying attention to Stein as she yakked on about dissection and madness. Finally, the door opened and a different nervous underclassman stuck his head in. This time, Maka gave a little finger wave and he scuttled over, presented her with the same-sixed white box, and left as if someone was chasing him. Maka silently opened the box in her lap and the same beautiful rose was waiting inside for her along with a card that read '…you…' It looked like Tsubaki and Liz were right! It was a Prom proposal.

Maka didn't realize she was grinning from ear to ear until Soul pointed it out. Embarrassed, she shoved her face into her book and pretended to read.

…

It was a beautiful buttery day outside as they made their way to their favorite double-sided-backless bench to eat lunch. Overhead, a beautiful cherry tree in full bloom sprinkled pink petals down on them. Maka's friends waited patiently until then to embarrass her thoroughly.

"So, Maka, are you going to accept this secret admirer's invitation? Liz teased as she bit into her sandwich.

Maka blushed and sipped her milk. "I don't know. I guess it depends on who it is…"

"What guy in our school is this romantic?" Liz asked flatly. "I mean, the roses and the cars and the ribbon and the boxes. It's so… perfect!"

"There are romantic guys out there," Tsubaki chimed in. Then she whipped her head around to scream at BlackStar, who had shimmied up the tree and was shrieking like a monkey. "Get down from there right now before you break your neck!"

"What if it's a girl?" Patty asked and laughed.

Maka's face turned white. "U-umm, Patty!"

Liz laughed too. "That would be such a riot!"

Then, the conversation dropped away from Maka and her mysterious admirer. Gratefully, Maka leaned her back against Soul's as she always did at lunch, brushed some petals off the top of her head, and stared up at the crystal blue sky. Her secret admirer… who could it be?

Day Two: Will you…

**X:Three:X**

Wednesday, May 11th, 11:47 a.m.

Maka hadn't been able to sleep the night before. She was too excited. She tapped her fingers on her desk the entire time she stared at the clock, desperately awaiting the arrival of her third rose and the day's card. Stein was preaching away but she didn't hear a word he said. She was beginning to feel like Soul, lazy and sleepy, but she didn't care. She was too excited! She felt like a girl in a romance novel about to have all her dreams come true.

_A mysterious Secret Admirer! Boxed and ribbon-tied roses! Romantic cards! Prom!_

She squealed a little, embarrassed by her own girlish glee. She had never thought she was the type to succumb to this kind of thing. She squirmed in her seat eagerly and glanced at the clock again—only about two minutes had passed. Why was time moving so slowly? She sighed heavily.

Soul cracked open one eye and glowered at her. "Maka, could you quit it? I'm trying to sleep!"

"Sorry," she whispered to him and continued staring at the clock and tapping her fingers on the desk.

Finally, the door eased open and a nervous underclassman's face peeked in. Again, Maka waved and accepted the trademark white box eagerly. As she had expected, there was another perfect red rose and a note that read '…go to…' in beautiful silver calligraphy.

…

Gleefully, Maka added her third rose to the glass vase on the kitchen table and added the card to the stack on the fridge. Then, she happily began preparing dinner while Soul watched her back. Maka felt his eyes on her and decided it was finally time to broach the subject she had been avoiding since the arrival of the first rose. They had all been going to prom with both dates and as friends, but Maka was a little concerned about Soul. He had been getting offers of dates all week and had been turning them down. Had he been planning on going with her, just as friends, or did he just not want a date?

"Hey, Soul," she said softly.

"Yeah?"

"If I accept this date—"

"Your new Secret Admirer?" Soul asked and leaned his face on his hand.

"Yeah," Maka said and blushed though she wasn't sure why.

"Then you're going to take the date?"

"I was planning to," she said sheepishly. It felt weird to talk about this with Soul, yet they talked about _everything_ with each other.

"That's good, I suppose," Soul said.

"You think that's good?"

"Well, whoever this is has worked really hard to get your attention. You may as well give him what he's working so hard for," he said mildly.

"You're okay with that?" she asked.

"Why wouldn't I be?"

"I mean, you've been turning down all the dates you got this week. I wasn't sure if you expected us to go as friends or what…" She trailed off and flipped the steaks they were having for dinner in the pan. The timer beeped, signaling that the biscuits were finished, but her hands were full. "Soul, can you—?"

He was already on his feet behind her, taking the pot holder from her hand and opening the oven. He took out the biscuits and slid them into the basket Maka had waiting patiently. When he finished with that, the microwave dinged and he took out the vegetables, too. Maka finished up the steaks and slapped them down on plates.

"There we go. Any rarer and it would still be moving," she said with a laugh.

Soul grinned, showing his gleaming white pointed teeth. "Just the way I like it!"

"So," Maka continued as they dug into dinner. "You're okay with me taking this date?"

"You should do whatever you want, Maka," he said and chewed the bone of his steak.

"I wonder who it is…" she whispered.

Soul shrugged and continued eating. It had been a long day and he was starving. When Maka didn't finish her dinner, he asked if he could have hers and, for once, she handed it over to him and drifted off to take a shower. She was in her own little world so Soul and the three roses finished dinner together.

Day Three: Will you go to…

**X:Four:X**

Thursday, May 12th, 12:13 p.m.

Today, the rose came at lunch—late enough that Maka had been panicking. What if she didn't get a rose today? What if this was all just a cruel trick? But it wasn't and she didn't have to worry. Professor Stein in his stitched-up coat came outside with a cigarette hanging off his lower lip and a white box tucked under his arm. He glanced around, spotted them, and headed their way. When he strolled over, Maka stared at him with barely concealed excitement.

"Maka, this came for you in my classroom and I took the liberty of relieving that poor freshman of it," Stein said and handed over the white box with red ribbon tied in a curly bow. "He wouldn't know where to find you anyway."

"Thank you, Professor Stein," Maka said and took the box from him.

Stein stood over her while she untied the ribbon with eager shaking fingers and plucked the beautiful thornless rose from the nest of white tissue paper. Today, there was a layer of white petals on the bottom of the box and there was a single word in shining silver script 'Prom.' A perfect palm tree was embossed in the card, surely alluding to their theme—Sunset in the Sands.

"So, it is a prom date then?" Stein asked.

Maka nodded and sniffed the rose delicately. It smelled sweeter than any flower she had ever taken the time to smell before, the perfect sweet fragrance that was better than any perfume. She fingered the card, tracing the drawing of the palm. "It's really adorable," she confessed.

Stein blew a heart-shaped ring of smoke, grinned, and walked away.

"So, you like it, Maka?" Kid asked. "That palm tree is perfectly symmetrical!"

Liz put her elbow in his side. "Of course she likes it. She's a girl. What girl doesn't like this kind of spectacular romanticism?"

"It's funny," Maka said, "I never thought I was the kind of girl who swooned for this kind of thing…"

Patty laughed.

"Then I guess the person doing this for you knows you better than you even know yourself," Tsubaki said softly and bit into her apple with a crunch.

Maka blinked and leaned back against Soul as she always did. He leaned into her as well, supporting her back perfectly. "I guess you're right, Tsubaki. I never thought of it that way," she said softly. "I wonder who it could be."

Day Four: Will you go to Prom…

**X:Five:X**

Friday, May 13th, 2:45 p.m.

Sadly, Maka had gone the entire day without a rose even though she jumped every time a door opened or someone called her name. But, nothing had come for her and school was over. She had waited all week for this final proposition and now, it was only a waste of time and heart. She felt so stupid, like a little girl who had been let down by a parent, and she couldn't make that stupid feeling go away. All the excitement for Prom tomorrow night didn't help either.

She was dateless and disappointed.

It was time to leave now and Maka met Soul at her locker so they could walk home together. When he saw the sad expression on her pale face, he leaned against the cold metal and asked, "What's wrong? Did your admirer turn out to be hideous?"

Maka spun in her combination, leaning her forehead on the cool locker. "No… I didn't get a rose today, Soul. I guess he changed his mind or maybe it was a prank or something…"

Soul shrugged. "You've still got me," was all he said.

Maka smiled softly. "I know Soul," she said. "I know I've always got you."

Then, she opened her locker and a rain of blood-colored petals came down on her head from a perfectly rigged bucket. Nestled in the mess of white balloons that filled up her locker was a crimson box tied with a white ribbon. Eagerly, Maka grabbed the box, pulled off the ribbon, and peered in at the beautiful roses inside. There was one white one and one red nestled in a bed of emerald tissue paper. On top was the same card she had been getting all week with only two words on it '…with me?' Maka smiled from ear to ear and showed Soul

He was a guy and he gave her a good-natured patient smile as she chattered on about how exciting this was. Then, he asked, "Well, who is your mystery date?"

Maka's heart fell into her stomach as she searched the card for a name. It was still signed, 'Love your Secret Admirer' and there was no name anywhere on the card. She flipped it over and there was the words 'Day Five' and 'If you accept, I'll pick you up in front of your house with a black limo at six for the dance.'

"It doesn't say who it is," Maka told Soul.

"What if it's a psycho?" Soul asked flatly as she started handing him balloons.

Maka swiped at him but she was in too good of a mood to actually hit Soul. "It's not a psycho, Soul!" she shouted and looked at all the petals at her feet. "Should I sweep these up?" she wondered softly and toed the petals into a pile.

"The janitor will get them," Soul said. "Come on. Let's get home."

"Okay!"

Maka hugged the box to her chest, smiling happily, while Soul carried the mess of bobbling balloons. He looked as if he had an armload of clouds and the sunlight glinted off his silver hair. So, Maka had a mystery date and Soul was still going with himself so he wouldn't have the chance to break any poor girl's heart by being just himself. This was going to be the best dance ever! Maka had never been so happy in her life.

Day Five: Will you go to Prom with me?

**X:Six:X**

Saturday, May 14th, 5:04 p.m.

Finally, Soul leaned on the door with an exhausted sigh of relief. He had just finished throwing out Maka's father, Spirit Albarn. The dummy had just come over to coo and fuss over his only daughter on the night of her senior prom and to threaten Soul a little. Maka had received him with the usual amount of grace and shouting, throwing things and frustration. Soul had barely managed to avoid getting hit with the books, brushes, hangers, and shoes she had lobbed at her father's head.

Then, while Soul threw him out, Maka finished getting ready. Soul was still only half-dressed. He was wearing his favorite dark pinstriped slacks, leather belt fastened around his narrow hips, blood-colored shirt with his black silk tie draped across his shoulders, and black socks on his feet. If _he_ was only that far along, he wasn't even sure he _wanted_ to know how far along Maka was. (Across town, Kid was probably less than halfway dressed and the girls were probably long since ready to go.)

Girls (and Kid) were so slow!

Soul shuffled back into his bedroom and tied his tie without looking, fixing the knot tight against his throat. He combed his silver hair, brushed his teeth, sprayed on a dash of cologne, and fiddled with the laces of his dress shoes. Finally, he checked himself in the mirror, decided he looked _damn_ good, and shrugged into his suit coat with the same stripes to match his trousers. Then, he braved the lion's den and knocked on Maka's bedroom door.

"How's it going?" he asked worriedly.

"Soul, is that you?"

"No, it's Santa."

"Can you zip me?" she called through the door.

"Right now? Are you decent?"

"You're only going to get a view of my naked back. You've seen it before."

Soul rolled his eyes and opened the door. Maka was standing in front of her full-length mirror, leaning in close as she played with her hair and put on a tiny bit of make-up. Her dress was hanging open at the back, partially zipped to where she could reach, and Soul could just see the sides of her small breasts. He averted his eyes as he came up behind her.

She met his crimson eyes in the mirror and smiled. "You look good, Soul," she said.

"I try," he said flippantly. He zipped up her dress and hooked the small clasp. "You don't look half-bad yourself."

"What?" Maka said as she twisted some curled hair up on the back of her head. "No insult about the size of my breasts?"

He shrugged. "It's Prom night. I can afford to be nice," he said by way of explanation. "Need any more help?"

Maka groaned and let her hair down. "If you were a girl, yes, but I don't think you can help me…"

Normally, Soul would duck out, but she looked pretty distressed so he sighed and said, "Try me."

Maka turned to face him. Her expression was caught between happy and concerned. "I don't think so, Soul."

"Why not?" Now, she was just shutting him out and he hated that.

"It's…" she hesitated, biting her lower lip.

"Maka, you sent me to the store to buy tampons, not once but twice. If I can handle that, I can handle _any_thing."

She chuckled at the memory. "It's just," she began, "I don't know who this guy is… What if he doesn't like my dress or something?" She cupped her small breasts with her hands. "What if my breasts really are as small as you say? What if—?"

"Maka," Soul interrupted. "This guy clearly went through a lot of trouble to set this up. He wouldn't have done all that with the roses and the notes if he didn't like you."

"What if it's a prank?" she whispered nervously.

Soul sighed and put his hands on her bare shoulders. "Then I'll kick his ass for you. All you'll have to do is point me in the right direction," he offered.

Maka chuckled and wiped at her face. "Thanks, Soul," she said softly.

"No problem. Now, hurry up. It's almost six. That's when your mystery date arrives with his limo, right?"

She nodded.

Soul clapped his hands. "Let's go! Move it!" Then, he turned to leave.

"Soul?"

"Yeah?" he stopped in the threshold and half-turned to face her.

"Thank you," Maka said and smiled winningly.

Soul couldn't help but smile in return. "No problem," he said. "It's cool."

Then, her bedroom door swung softly closed behind him and Maka finished getting ready just as Cinderella's fairytale clock struck six o'clock and a sleek mile-long night-black limo pulled up in front of the apartment Soul and Maka shared.

"Oye, Maka! Your ride's here!" Soul shouted.

"Okay!"

Maka checked herself in the mirror on final time. She had decided to leave her honey-colored hair down loose in curls around her face with a single black bejeweled flower clip that twisted up one small mass of curls. She adjusted her small breasts inside the satin gown and sighed as she admired her reflection. She had chosen something cute and pretty as her dress instead of something sleek for curves like Liz or with a wide tulle skirt that made her feel like a bell like Patty. The beautiful emerald-green dress came to just above her knees, was strapless, and matched her eyes perfectly. It had a beautifully layered top with a large black swath of ribbon tied in a bow just beneath her left breast. The skirt was formfitting but had a layer of black lace patterned with lovely flowers. She had chosen the dress because it allowed her to pretend she had breasts and didn't hug her non-existent curves. She had borrowed some strappy black heels from Liz and bought some onyx jewelry to match the dress.

"Maka!"

"I'm coming!"

She charged out into the living room where Soul was lounging on the couch. She spread her arms and did a little model spin for him.

"How do I look?"

Soul smiled a toothy smile. "You'll knock him dead," he said.

"Thanks!"

Then, she rushed out the door and it was a miracle she didn't trip on the front steps in her haste. If she had been wearing a floor-length gown, she was certain she would have ended up on her face in the dirt. She stopped on the sidewalk beside the limo, seeing her own reflection on the tinted window. The door didn't open after a long moment and Maka timidly pulled open the door with shaking hands. Inside, the limo was empty.

X X X

And I removed the original mature content that continued from that point due to the trolls. Please join the cause to bring maturity to Fanfiction again. Or read this story and all its updates in its original version on **Archive of Our Own.**


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